The Art Of Writing The Perfect Artists Bio

As an artist, one of the key tools you have, to sell yourself and your art products is your artists bio. It tells the story of your art career – through your bio, you share with the world your credentials, achievements, vision, mission, goals, techniques and art style – in other words, your bio is your first introduction to your potential customers and the importance of an impactful bio cannot be emphasised enough.

A lot of thought and brainstorming goes into crafting an effective bio. You need to communicate the philosophy behind your work with focus, clarity and passion. You are the only person who can explain the concepts and the feeling behind every creation of yours. You may argue that you are an artist and not a writer, but only you can tell your story and talk about your journey – nobody can tell your story the way you can, because it’s your story to tell.

So here is a rundown of writing an effective and compelling artists bio. 

WHAT ARE ARTIST BIOS AND WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT?

 

An artist’s biography is a document that explains the thought and philosophy behind your style of art, why you do what you do and reflects your most current body of work.

• Artist’s bios are almost always written in the third person. 

I always find it a challenge not to exceed the word limit in social media forums. On my website however, I have taken the liberty of being wordy and talking about my work and artistic journey with more freedom and less word constraints.

An artist’s bio is not quite the same as an artist’s statement or a CV. An artist’s statement refers to information provided on an artwork or a series artworks exhibited in a group show or featured in a magazine /newspaper. A CV documents your experience and accomplishments, while an artist’s bio should be all about you, your practice and your philosophy.

• Make your artist biography SEO compliant – do the homework and research (on the Google keyword planner) and use the right keywords in your bio. This will help search engines connect you to people who are looking for artists who do the type of work you do.

         

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WHAT SHOULD I INCLUDE IN MY ARTIST BIO?

 

The key elements to include in your artists’ bio are:

• Your name
• Your artistic skill-sets and the mediums you work with.
•  Key themes in your artwork
• Your philosophy

Other information you may include could be the inspiration behind your work, people and significant influences in your life that are responsible for the kind of art you create. Briefly list your educational qualifications, exhibitions or awards received current and upcoming projects and collaborations.

 Edit your bio periodically and keep it crisp, concise and relevant. Get a fresh pair of eyes ( friends or family) to read your bio from time to time.

SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT BEFORE WRITING YOUR ARTIST’S BIO

 

When you sit down to write your artist’s bio, brainstorm and do an evaluation of what makes your work special. What are the special techniques you employ and what is your preferred medium? Identify your target audience. What do you hope to achieve through your work and what do you hope people will take away from it? 

• Collaborate with a charitable organisation and share a percentage of the sale proceeds with the organisation. It is very important for a customer to know that a portion of the money spent on buying your painting, will be used for a social cause.
•  Modesty is the key to writing a great bio. This is not to say that you should understate or under play your achievements, but don’t overdo it by making exaggerated claims
• Write an engaging and interesting bio. You can look up other artists bio’s on the internet to get clarity on what an artists bio should be like – add a photograph or two of yourself, in the throes of the artistic process 🙂 Your potential customers would love to see an image of you creating your art 😊 

Lastly, your artist biography should be the best expression of your art career. It must reflect your passion, enthusiasm and love ❤️ for art.